Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijani MP, Ganira Pashayeva has sharply criticized the international organizations for their indifferent position on the recent escalation of tensions along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

Pashayeva, who has recently visited the Tovuz region of Azerbaijan near the contact line of troops, said in an interview to local media that during the most important holidays for Azerbaijanis - Novruz and Ramadan - the Armenian armed forces deliberately target civilians in the border villages.

She said despite this fact that Azerbaijani border in Tovuz region is well-protected, the Armenian armed forces resort to the inhuman methods by firing at homes of the civilians with long range weapons.

She regretted that the international organizations, in particular, the OSCE Minsk group, which is involved in conflict resolution, don't seriously condemn such inhuman behavior of Armenia and its armed forces.

"We expect serious pressure on Armenia in this regard. Targeting of the civilians and their houses is unacceptable. Unfortunately, international organizations, especially the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group's activities are not satisfactory. The co-chairs remains silent toward such issues and limit themselves with statements that have no impacts," Pashayeva said.

She went on to note that by this method, Armenia aims to disturb the civilians, create tensions and force the people living near the contact line of troops to leave their lands.

The units of Armenian armed forces shelled Alibayli village of the Tovuz region on July 25. As a result of the shelling, a teenager and an old man were wounded and taken to hospital for treatment.

Last week, the Armenian military killed a resident of Azerbaijan's Tartar region while he was fishing in Tartar River in the Ashagi Chayli village.

Pashayeva said Azerbaijani armed forces have answered the Armenian attacks by firing back. "We have no serious loss in the Tovuz region. The enemy strives to increase the tensions by targeting civilians."

She further noted that works are intensified to build the retaining walls to protect homes from enemy bullets, adding that these measures are implemented in collaboration with the Red Cross.

Pashayeva said the retaining walls on the contact line will protect the civilians from the sudden shelling.

She also regretted that no international organization voice a statement condemning Armenia for seriously wounding a resident of Alibayli village by wounding him in his home.

The teenager, who got a bullet that entered his nose and stopped in his jaw, is now in a stable situation after a surgery.

The ceasefire violations have increased recently on the contact line of Armenian and Azerbaijani troops.

Late June, five civilians were wounded as a result of Armenian armed forces' shelling of the houses and fields in the border villages.

The precarious cease-fire between Azerbaijan and Armenia was reached after a lengthy war that displaced over a million Azerbaijanis and has been in place between the two South Caucasus countries since 1994.

Since the hostilities, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

A fragile ceasefire has been in place since 1994, but long-standing efforts by U.S., Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenia's withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.